Entertaining: Remember, it's a party, so try to have a little fun

KATIE BROWN

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, November 10, 2006

I have a love affair (some might call it an obsession) with entertaining. Even when I was a professional caterer, I never got tired of parties, and to this day, I will find any excuse to throw a shindig.

After all these years of entertaining and being entertained, I think I've got this labor of love down to a science: You've got to think ahead, give yourself plenty of time to plan, keep your guests' tastes in mind and, most important, make things as simple as possible.

These commandments can make your entertaining effortless whether you're planning a dinner for 12, a third-grade birthday bash or a milestone event such as a wedding.

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Make an entertaining itinerary for yourself -- List not only what you have to do, but the order in which you should do it. For instance, you don't want to buy your flowers at the beginning of the shopping day, just so they can sit in your hot car and wilt. Stop off for dry goods first -- or better yet, buy them ahead of time, even in bulk. Write down what you need and where you'll get it (and don't forget a pen, so you can have the satisfaction of crossing off your accomplished tasks).

Know your guests -- In party giving as in life, we can't please everybody, but considering your target audience can give you a place to start. When I prepare an evening for both adults and kids, I usually try to make two menus -- but I use many of the same ingredients, to keep the planning easy. For example, I might make a sophisticated fruit salad with a dash of balsamic vinegar and goat cheese for the grown-ups, and for the kids I'll serve fruit and yogurt on the end of miniature wooden ice-cream spoons.

Keep it simple -- This is my hard-and-fast rule for everything: The last thing I want is to be trapped in the kitchen while my party goes on without me. You should enjoy the fruits of your own labor, so don't be ashamed to have a few tricks up your sleeve.

One of my time-tested shortcuts is to have shakers filled with my favorite spice concoctions at the ready, so I'm not scrambling around in my pantry. (I will not make the obvious joke here: that you'll be party-ready in two shakes.)

For all these mixes, just combine the ingredients and store them in a cool, dark place.

Make it chic -- Store your mixes in restaurant-style sugar shakers. Label them by cutting out a square of fabric a couple of inches bigger than your opening, then cut a circle within your square so the spices can shake out.

Print the name of your spice mixture on the fabric square with a permanent marker.